Swiss Election Runoffs Counter Right-Wing Gains in Lower House

Bastian Benrath
·2 min read

(Bloomberg) -- Switzerland’s left and centrist parties secured surprise wins in runoffs for the upper house of parliament, partially offsetting a shift to the right in general elections last month.

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The Center Alliance added one seat to cement its position as the biggest party in the 46-strong chamber, according to official results. The Social Democrats gained two seats, bringing its tally to nine in the so-called Council of States, which is comprised of representatives from Switzerland’s 26 cantons.

The runoff votes at the weekend dented the success of the right-wing Swiss People’s Party, which scored one of its best results ever in national elections in October. The SVP, which campaigned to curb immigration and enshrine the country’s traditional neutrality in the constitution, lost one seat in the upper house.

The upper house has equal legislative powers to the lower house, and passing new laws requires majorities in both chambers. Irrespective of the results, a shift in Switzerland’s executive is unlikely as the seven-seat government isn’t formed by a coalition or outright majority but is a compact between the largest parties. That executive will be elected by lawmakers on Dec. 13.

The upper house elections also saw right-wing lawmaker Thomas Minder — who became known a decade ago for pushing through some of the world’s toughest rules on executive pay by masterminding the ‘fat cats’ initiative — ousted from the chamber, and replaced by a Social Democrat. Also, for the first time since the 1970s, the canton of Zurich is not represented by any councilor from the right, but by a Social Democrat and a member of the Green Liberals.

Most of the nation’s 26 cantons get two seats in the chamber, but six of them get just one.

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